Night Light Inc. invests in people and processes in preparation for rapid growth

Chicago-based landscape lighting company Night Light Inc. credits all-in-one Aspire business management software with improving company processes and enhancing team communication as they plan for growth.

“Communication is a big deal for me,” says Jillyan MacMorris, Chief Improvement Officer at Night Light Inc. “To be able to tell the whole story through one system has been a huge benefit that we couldn’t find anywhere else.”

In business for more than 30 years, the family-owned company offers high-end residential landscape illumination design, installation, and maintenance services.

The company onboarded with Aspire in 2020, transitioning from time-consuming and error-prone manual processes to a cloud-based system that has streamlined operations and dramatically increased efficiency.

“Before Aspire, we didn’t really have to articulate the processes we were using,” MacMorris says. “The transition really forced us to get focused.”

MacMorris sheds light on how Night Light Inc. continues to improve internal onboarding, training, and payroll processes with Aspire.

With Aspire business management software, landscape companies can quickly develop customizable workflows to improve efficiency. Landscape business owners gain visibility into every aspect of their operations with real-time insights, enabling them to make more informed decisions to improve sales, productivity, and profits.

Night Light Inc. needed a way to clearly and consistently communicate processes to new employees to ensure everyone received the same information.

“Teaching new people what to do and what it looks like can be difficult to communicate when it’s just person-to-person, and there’s nothing to point them toward,” MacMorris says. “It was difficult to communicate processes; it was difficult to be clear and consistent.”

With Aspire, Night Light Inc. can streamline onboarding and training, so all new employees follow the same process and receive the same information. Establishing consistent processes becomes even more critical when a company strategizes for growth.

“I see Aspire helping us to scale,” MacMorris says of the next five years. “We’re planning for big growth, and we’ll need to hire additional people, onboard them effectively, and give visibility to everybody we bring on board. I think that will put us on a trajectory and help us move faster and more in sync as a team.”

Take the headache out of invoicing and payroll 

With Aspire’s all-in-one solution, Night Light Inc. improved payroll and invoicing efficiency, increased accuracy, saved time, and eliminated the frustration that accompanies manual processes.

“Payroll has been ridiculously more efficient,” MacMorris says. “Invoicing has not only been more efficient but a much clearer, simpler process that depends less on human beings and potential human error.”

Aspire empowers landscaping companies to apply the correct labor hours to each job to ensure accurate accounting. Since Aspire syncs with solutions like QuickBooks and Acumatica, users can easily create and accurately track payments.

In her role as chief improvement officer at Night Light Inc., MacMorris knows how improved processes strengthen the company and empower employees. Aspire’s dashboard gives clarity and insight into jobs, keeping everyone on the same page.

“One of my favorite activities is building and teaching people how to use the dashboards on their homepage,” says MacMorris, also known as the “Aspire queen” among her co-workers. The information helps teams better understand jobs and opportunities to better serve their customers.

The information Aspire brings to light enhances the entire team's performance––from estimators and field crews to sales and accounting. For MacMorris, it’s illuminated how her particular role affects people at the company.

“My joy is to develop people, and I think using the proper tools and technology has been a great asset to me in that role,” MacMorris says. “I love meeting up with my mid-level managers and communicating with them about the information they can pull and give to their teams to leverage for their morning meetings. Aspire touches every corner of Night Light, from our crew to our leadership team.”